“We’re looking to be among the top three players by end of this festive season, including online and offline,” said Madhav Sheth, chief executive officer at Realme.

The smartphone brand which clocked 17% share online, has doubled its monthly capacity from 1.5 million units to over 3.6 million.

NEW DELHI: Chinese smartphone maker Realme aims to become among the top three players in the segment overall, with a share of 13-14% by September end, on the back of launching smartphones in the Rs 10,000-Rs 20,000 price range, which it feels will hit the right notes with consumers during the festive season.

“We’re looking to be among the top three players by end of this festive season, including online and offline. By September end, we will clock over 10 million shipments cumulatively,” said Madhav Sheth, chief executive officer at Realme.

As of June, Xiaomi led the smartphone market with 28% share, followed by Samsung which had a 25% share. Vivo and Realme occupied the No 3 and No 4 ranks with 12% and 9% shares, respectively. Parent company Oppo was at No 5 with 8% share. Oppo's manufacturing unit makes devices for Realme as well.

Sheth added that Realme has invested Rs 300 crore in setting up eight surface mounting technology (SMT) lines and has doubled its workforce during the July-September period, anticipating high demand for its devices, specifically for the festive season beginning end of this month.

Sheth added that the company would analyse the supplies for the October-December quarter, such that it does not face a situation of excess stock or inventory post the festive season, which other brands may face. “We’re going step by step.”

The smartphone brand which clocked 17% share online, with a No 2 rank trailing Xiaomi, has doubled its monthly capacity from 1.5 million units to over 3.6 million, to produce about 15 million smartphones in 2019. It has added about 3,000 people were added to its workforce, which will be engaged in producing the increased capacity meant for Diwali, taking the total workforce to about 6,500.